Improvement in billiaed-kegisters



saac KLINGQO'F SEYMOUR-I, INDIANA Letters Patent No. 79;,233, dated June 23, 1868.

'- IMPROVEMENT IN liILLIARD-REGISTERS.

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To ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN! v A Be it known that' l, ISAAC KLING, of Seymour, 'in the county of Jackson, and State of Indians, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Billiard-Game Keeper, and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and in which-' Figural represents a vertical longitudinal section of my improved game-keeper. Figure 2, ahorizontal section of the slide-case. 5 t Figure 3, a vertical transverse section of the slide-case, and a portion of the tube which contains the dies. Figure 4, ascction of one of the ehecking points. I w v F-igure 5,- a viewin perspective, and 1 Figure 6 a view in elevation of portions of the wires Eland F. I

The object of my invention is toprovidc a simple and convenient apparatus for registering the number of 'g:iu1es played upon a billiard-table by the movement of the points in counting the game, so that it'shall be impossible for the players to marl: their game without indicating to the person in charge of the table that a game has been played: and to this end my improvement consists in providing two movable slides, enclosed in a suitable case, and operated-by the rod which carries the points, together with an index-rod, furnished with dies numbered to record the games, and so arranged that the movements of the slides will cause a die to be protruded from the ease for everygatne that is played. 7 In the accompanying drawings, which show a convenient arrangement of parts for carrying out the objects of my invention, represents a case or box, in which two slides, 13 and 0, move longitudinally. The'slides are placed one above the other in disease, being separated 'by the, cross-pieces 13', over which'the top. slide, 0,

mnves, and which prevent the lower slide, B, from receiving anyvertical movement. Suitable openings are made in the slides for the index -rods and dies to pass through.

The-slide B is attached to C by a cord, b, passing over the pulleys I: b, the other end of the slide 0 beingconnected to a spring, c, either plate, spiral, elliptic, or other convenient form, fastened to the case A. A hook,

,B, is pivoted to the end of the slide B, which is pressed down by a spring, 6', attached to the slide, and engages in a notch, E in one end of a bar, E, to the opposite end of which the wire E, on which the points 0 are strung, is secured. The hook B is disconnected from the rod at the proper time by striking against tlic inclined plane 13 on the bottom of the caseA,

A wire, E on which the points e are strung, is secured to'the outer end of the bar E by means of -a setscrew, e, or in any other suitable manner. A guide-wire, F, is secured to the bottom of the slide-case, and

extends outwards parallel to and immediately beneath the wire E, A stop, f, is placed upon'thc wire F, to'

which the points are moved to count the game. The points e have holes in them large enough for the wires E and F to pass through, the points sliding upon these wires. The first point, or that with which the player commences to mark'his game, is secured to the wire E, but not to F. The other points slide freely upon both wires. The first point being secured'to the wire E and this to the bar E, it will be seen that as soon as the player commences tomark his game, the movement of the first point to the stop f draws out the slide 13, which movement of the slide'causes a die to be protruded from the ease in a manner hereinafter to be'described.

To prevent the player from moving back the points at the end of the game, and marking a new game without recording that it has been played, every tenth or twentieth point, which I term a checking-point, is

provided with a latch, 0 and spring, for holding the same in a notch, 0, on the wire E. A dcpres'siomf, is

made in the wire F, which enables the latch e to slide into the notch when the point is moved up thereto;

In the position shown by figs. 1 and 2, one of these checking-points, 0, stands immediately above the notch 0, but the latch is prevented from catching therein by the wireF, which, at the point f immediately beneath the notch e, at the commencement of the game, does not present any depression for the latch to enter. When the. wire E is drawn out by means of the first point, the notch e stands' above the depression f 'in the lower wire F, and as soon as the checking-point e is moved up to the notch, the spring 0 forces the latche therein,

and the points cannot be moved back without carrying back the wire E, and thereby moving the bar E a suilic'icnt distance into the case for the heel: 3 to engage in the notch E, when the slides are in readiness to protrude another die as soon as the next game begins to be marked.

The beginning of the depression f is a gradual incline, which is placed in such position upon the wire F that as soon as the wire E has been moved back a suilicicnt distance for the hook B to engage in the notch E the latch e strikes against the incline, which raises it out of the notch, and the full diameter of the-wire F beneath it prevents it from catching in the notch again until moved up to its proper position for marking the next game. The last point is locked and prevented from being moved up too far towards the, slide-case by the latch a engaging in the notches c and f in the wires E -and F.

An index-rod, I), having (lies, d, upon it, numbered consecutively to record the games played, moves in .a vertical tube, D, communioating'wit-h the slide-ease, and passes through openings in the slides and bottom of the case. The dies d are made in the form of hollow square blocks, surrounding the index-rod, the lower edges of which form shoulders to rest upon the edges of the opening in the upper slide C, and upon doors, I, hinged to the lower slide B, and are furnished with legs, 1:1, to maintain them at a suilicient distance apart for the upper slide to'move between them.

To prevent the index-rod from being pushed up by the player after-a game has been played, plates (Z are hi d t the top thcreoi, w.hich are pressed downwards by a spring, d, and cngagc in notches II in the tube D. Any pressure from the bottom will only tendto force the plates more firmly into the notches, and prevent the index-rod from being raised; and when it is-dosired to raise the indexfrodfo'r recording a new series of games, this is done by pulling down a ring, 9', on the end of a cord, g, attached to the plates (Z and passing over the pulleys g to a box, G, which is accessible only by the proprietor or person in charge of the table. The opening in the slide C is a long slot, that part of which through which thefindex-rod passes when the slides are ungeared from the bar E, orwhen. thebar E is just beginning to act as the slide, being of suilicient width. to allow the indcxn'od anddies to drop through, but for the remainder of its length it is only oi'suilieient width to admit the rod, the dies being prevented from passing through by the shoulders formed by their loweredges striking against the cdgesof the slot. I

The width of' the slot in the slide Bis the same as the greatest width of that in C, and it is provided with doors I, pressed down by springs 1', which, when closed, will only afi'ord space for the rod to pass'between them, the dies resting uponthem in the same manner as upon the edgesof the narrow partof the slot in Q. 'Whcn the under rod is drawn up by the cord g,jthe doors I swing upon their hinges and allow the dies to pass through the springs z'i, returning them to the horizontal position. i

The operation of the machine is as follows; The index-rod is raisedby the cord 9, which, as before stated,

is undcrthc control of the proprietor or person in charge, until the first die rests upon the doors I I. One or more of. the points 0 9 being moved out tothe stop f, to commence marking the game, the bar E and slide B are thereby drawn out, and the doors I being drawn away from the first .die, the latter drops down outside of the case to the lower end of the indcx-rod, indicating one game. At the sametimc the narrow part ofthe slot in C,.liaving passed under the second die, prevents. it from falling through. When the hook B is raised by the incline B out of the notch the spring cclraws back the slides C 'and B to their first position, causing the scconddic to drop through the wide part of the slot in'C upon the doors I, and as soon asthc players commence counting the second game, the second die drops tlireughin a similar manner. 7 l V The cross-pieces B may bedispensed with, and theslides gnidod by grooves in the sides of the case, 'ivhich latter method I prefer. The inclined plane forungcaring the hook from thenotch may be alsedispenscd with,

and a rocking-shaft and arms, operated by. theslide, substituteth ii' deemed more convenient;

when it is desired to provide a check whereby the proprietor can verify the account of the porsonin hharge oi the tables, a similar apparatus is added for the inspection of 'the proprietor, having anvind'ex-rodlong. enough to containsutlicient dies to show the'numbcr of games playcdon all the tables in the course of'a' da'y,'(or

several rods and sets of slides in the same case,) and having its lower slide c onnected by-cords with the lower slides of thcgame-keopers of the various tables. Each time that a game is marked, thecordattaehcd to the lower slide of the game-keeper that shows it, will mov ethe slide of supplementaryapparatus, and indicate a game. The index-rod may pass into a locked box accessible only to the proprietor, and theapparatus may bc plaoed in any portion of the building desired. 7 I v The games can be indicated at any distance from the table by using one case containing merely asingle slide, and its, unhooking-gear placed at the end of the wire that carricsthepoiuts, without index-rod or dies,

and having its slide connected to a cord, which extends to theilowerslide of an apparatus constrgeted in the v manner described, except that the hook and disconnecting-gear are dispensed with, by ivhichthe games are indicated,- as hereinbefore set forth. p r I i It will be seen that my invention affords a simple and convenient means of recording the number of games played free from the complication of clock-work arrangements, and requiring nomanipulatiofns on the part of.

the players beyond those ordinarily made in playing a game.

, Having thus fully described my improved automatw game-keepcn whatI claim thereinas new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. Operating the index-rod, which sl1ows thcnumbcrof games played,by, thc movement of the points to marlr the games, as set forth.

QQThecombination of the slotted slidcs B and C, doors I I, indexh-od D, and spring 0 with the bar-Ill and 'Wire E when arranged and operating substantially as described.

3. The pivdted plates d and spring (1 in combination with the notches H, for preventing the index-rod ,Y rom being raised from the outside of the case.

4. The spring b and inclined p1anB for o'peratizig the connection" and disconnection of the slider and bar E, as set forth. v v I 5. The ehecking-points e provided with springs e andiat ches e in combination with the notch e and depression f, for preventing the poirits-from heir g moved backwards and re-markecl without counting a game,- asset forth.

In testimony that claim the foregoing as my own, I affix'my signature in presence of two witnesses.

i f ISAAGKLING. Witnesses:

' BEMF. PRICE,

CHARLES LEININGER. 

